


Brother Universe

by rey1119



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Critisism's and comments welcome!, F/M, Gen, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-22
Updated: 2016-10-22
Packaged: 2018-08-23 21:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8344057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rey1119/pseuds/rey1119
Summary: An old band mate of Greg's leaves him a very surprising gift in the form of a new son, but there's more to him than meets the eye. Unravel the mystery of the Gem War's enigmatic ending as Rey learns about the Gems and about the greatest threat to all life in the universe.





	1. Prologue Part One: How to speak with more than words.

“It’s going to rain now isn’t it?” The words came out of his mouth before he knew it. Luckily nobody was around to hear this pessimistic statement, but on top of everything else that happened today rain seemed like the perfect icing to fit this miserable cake.

Ed Spartan was a young man in his twenties, most men see this time as the time to lay the foundations for your career but not Ed. Ed was born under a wild star and was destined to party until he couldn’t party anymore, that’s what he believed anyway until his childhood fantasies came crashing down violently around him. 

Sarah Dimes was the bass player in the band, she ended up getting into money trouble using credit cards and had to leave the band to find a real job. Nickolas Corn was the backup singer and secondary guitarist after Sarah left he chickened out, moved back home with his parents in Ohio. With his band effectively in shambles Marty had taken Ed’s best friend Greg Universe and last remaining member Grant who played piano and left without even telling him, he only found out secondhand via fliers Marty left in the warehouse they used to play at. Everyone he cared about was gone and it only took a week.

Ed walked though the city street, the sides of his head not covered by his Mohawk now lay bare and cold in the night air, his hairdo the only remaining evidence that he ever played music at all. The steam rising from the box of noodles he carried provided a feeble warmth against the cold autumn air. The rolling clouds above threatened rain but there was no roof for him to shelter under, he entered the park seeking shelter from the harsh wind. In honest, he was heading to the park from the start he could no longer afford a hotel, the money he got from selling his drums only lasted so long. It now seemed like magic that Marty could keep the whole band fed and sheltered with the money from their shows.

The park’s usual beauty was somehow diminished in the dark and cold and it seemed unwelcoming and eerie. He continued to walk deeper in the silent park, the sound of cars fading behind the trees and the weak light from the moon shining meekly though the orange leaves that clung to the trees. A little ways further into his walk of shame to find a bench to sleep on he came across someone already sitting on a bench.

It was impossible to tell how old she was while it was so dark out, but her skin looked flawless in the moonlight, a milky white complexion that was completely at odds with the shadowy woods. Her hair was also a bright white and was curly and very bushy, so that dispute her clean clothes and smooth skin she looked distinctly disheveled, curly bangs fell messily over her face as she stared blankly at the sky though a gap in the trees.

Ed nearly screamed as he had looked up to see what she might be staring at and after only seeing the cloudy sky, he had looked back down to see her staring at him, her head still tilted upward. After a moment of staring unblinkingly she scooted over on the bench and offered him a seat, which Ed cautiously accepted. She had abandoned her vigil of the sky and instead seemed to be drinking Ed with her unending stare.

“Hey, my name is Ed, you are..” He said to break the silence more than anything. But she didn’t reply she had brought her hand up to her face, it was a dainty thing her hand but deft as she pointed to her throat, chin and did a finger wag all in one smooth motion that didn’t seem to have any wasted effort. Ed understood her to be mute, or at least unwilling to speak at the moment.

The silence continued to press down upon them like a tangible thing, more to take her eyes off him Ed took the chopsticks from the empty noodle box and started to do a little drum roll on the paper box, the noise broke the silence wonderfully and the familiar sound of drumming coming from the chopsticks seemed to steady him.  
His drum work became more complex as he started to use the wood on the bench and the cloth on his pants to create different sounds, stringing them together in mock beats from his favorite songs. The woman continued to stare, her face passive but looking interestingly at his fast moving fingers as they; smacked, flipped and crashed the chopsticks onto any nearby surface he could find. He ended with a crescendo of very quick tapping and one very hard smash onto the bench which snapped the chopsticks in half.

The woman smiled and gave a quiet little round of applause, and for less than a nothingth of a moment, Ed was back in front of a screaming crowd of teenagers in a worn down warehouse making noise with his favorite people on the planet but all too soon he was back staring at the shockingly white woman, holding two broken chopsticks and feeling awful about everything. Two hot tears slowly worked their way down his cheeks as the chopsticks slid unceremoniously from his hands. “Stupid,” he said to himself this whole situation was just plain stupid. He started to get up, he would need to find a bench to sleep on before long.

Without warning the woman pulled him into an embrace, she was warm and inviting and the hug was firm but kind and he was so tired. Before he knew what was happening, he had fallen asleep.


	2. Prologue Part Two: How to not regret it afterwards.

In the weeks that followed, he had come to know the woman as ‘Berry’ as she couldn’t spell and he tried to sound her name out for her and ‘ber’ was as far as they got. They were homeless together until Ed got a job as a janitor at a local supermarket, they moved into a grimy apartment were they would stay for years to come. Shortly after the move in however Ed got a call from non other than Marty.

Marty sounded frantic, said he had a plan to get the band back together and that Grant was threatening to leave the him and Greg by themselves and he started pleading for Ed to make his way Seattle where they were supposed to meet up. Ed had already sold his drums and now had someone to care for again, and decided he would not risk what little of a life he scraped together for himself for five minutes of fame. He hung up on Marty, and that was the last he heard from him for a long time.

He looked at Berry and wondered if he really did turn down Marty for her sake and not his own, she looked at him and smiled as she continued to chop carrots with the same deft precision and speed she demonstrated on the night they had met, she was always very good with her hands.

Berry’s past remained an enigma to Ed well into their ladder years together, he knew they she had been abandoned but that’s all that she’d say, or rather all that she’d agree to when he asked about it. Her hair became a lot less bushy after they moved in together and although she never said a word he knew how she felt about him, and with nothing but positive feelings about the future they pressed bravely on into the unknown knowing only that whatever they might face, they’d face together.


	3. How to not go out with a bang

Greg was spending the day as usual, sleeping in the van. Unlimited money didn’t suit him as much as spending time lying around listening to music, thinking about Rose. Suddenly a loud knocking woke him and he fell out of the seat. Groggily wondering who could possibly be bothering so early in the day (although it was close to 3pm.) he opened the doors on the back of the van, and a familiar face met his sleepy gaze.

“Ed!” Greg exclaimed. “I thought I’d never see you again.” His eyes filled with emotion as nostalgic feelings welled up inside him at the sight of a long lost friend. He was a slim man wearing a cap over his bald head and dull brown eyes.

“Greg old pal, let me tell you. You were very close to just that.” He said as he pulled him into a hug. “I had a hard time finding you until I ran into that old sourpuss Marty.” He looked around the van after the hug broke. “ He told me you had a kid, where is he?” At this Greg looked a little embarrassed.

“It’s a long story Ed, but we shouldn’t talk here, let’s go out to eat! My treat!” He said as he started to look for his sandles, but Ed waved his hand and shook his head. “What’s wrong?”

Ed looked sad for a moment but his face lightened a little as he took a seat on the van next to Greg. “I don’t have much time Greg. I don’t mean like the old days, when we were so busy with trying to write a new song we stayed up whole days. I mean like I got a boy myself, and I wont be here to see my grandchildren.” He stared at the ground not meeting Greg’s eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t come back, I really am Greg. But now, if not ever before I need a favor from you, but I don’t know if I deserve to get it.”

Greg shook his head. He had money, he had time and he was sure he could handle whatever it was his old friend asked of him. “Whatever you need.” At these words tears started welling in Ed’s closed eyes as sat staring at the concrete below.

“I knew you were one of a kind friend Greg, more than I deserve. I put that woman above my friends and what did it get me? She disappeared right after our son was born, doctors say he moseyed on out before I got there. That woman...” He steadied himself, taking deep breaths before taking a big sigh and plunging onward. “ I’m dying Greg, my doctor told me I have three months and that was a months ago! What I need from you is to look after my son, Rey.” He motioned towards a travel worn car. Greg squinted and thought he could make out a figure in the backseat.

“ All this travel has worn him out so he’ll be out for a few more hours which is what I’m counting on. I’ve made arrangements for how I want to go out and I want to do it alone. No funeral, remember how I used to say Greg?” And Greg nodded. Whenever they had a successful show, usually Ed would throw himself into the crowd shouting ‘if you don’t catch me, at least I’ll die young’ or sometimes they would catch him saying ‘I don’t wanna be buried or cremated... I wanna be blown up!’ The silly ramblings of a wild kid, or so he thought.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this? What about your son? He’ll miss you.” Greg said concerned. He knew that he wouldn’t have bothered coming all this way if he wasn’t at least mostly sure about it. But to him, leaving your son behind, even in the care of someone else seemed a foolish and selfish thing to do.

Ed finally looked back up at Greg who was staring at him concernedly. “You might think me selfish Greg, and you might be right. But I want my son to remember me in my prime, and not some sick old man he has to drag to the bathroom. I told you when I joined the band, my family disowned me for dropping out of school, they won’t take my son in. You’re the only person I know I can trust.” He finished and put his hand on Greg’s shoulder.

“You want to hear something funny Greg?” Ed asked as he saw Gregs face fill with sadness. He looked up at Ed. “You had all that hair when we were kids, and I swore you would lose it all before I did. But at least I don’t have that stupid Mohawk anymore.” He took a finger and ran it across his bald head as he lifted his cap. They both shared a short laugh, broken by the sound of a car pulling up.

“Ah. Well Greg, that’s my taxi. I guess this is goodbye.” He said as he lifted himself from the van with effort. Greg looked sad again and Ed reached in his coat pockets and fetched several pieces of paper. “Let me see, okay hand this to my boy when he wakes up,” he handed him a envelope “and this is for you.” A check with three hundred thousand dollars written on it.

“I don’t need this!” Greg started to explain but Ed cut him off as he put the papers back in his pockets. “Oh, I know. That was my bribe money just in case you didn’t want to do it. Marty told me all about what happened and he’s as salty as a sailor. Probably should have had more faith in Starchild.” A honk from the Taxi brought them out of conversation. “Well Greg, you’ll take good care of him will you?” He asked as he walked towards his Taxi.

“Like he’s my own son.” Greg replied as the door shut. He watched the taxi all the way out of sight and collapsed back down inside the van. What a morning this had been. He thought about Ed, and all his antics and how he played the drums and everything they did together as kids and broke down crying as he remembered he found Ed’s drums in a pawnshop some years back and they were sitting in his storage unit.


	4. How to know when family matters.

Rey awoke with a start. The car was empty and it sat outside a car wash. The sun was starting to set and he wondered where his dad was. After around ten minutes of sitting in silence in the car, he got out to have a look around. A man sitting in a van beckoned him over and after a moments hesitation he went over. As he came closer, he thought he recognized the older man. “You can’t be Mr.Universe can you?”

He looked at the boy standing in front of the van, his shoulder length black hair was tipped with white. He wore a gray hoodie and blue-gray jeans. Greg nodded, and guested for him to sit down by patting the empty seat of the van. Greg knew what his next question would be, and thought about the best way to answer and what all would be on the letter he left for him. As he reached for the letter he had sat on a chest in the back of the van, the boy had broken into tears.

It took him a while to stop, Greg had felt a little awkward but eventually pulled him into a hug and let him cry it out like he had earlier trying not to start again himself. After he had stopped crying the sun was setting and washing the sky in pink, he wiped his eye on his shirt. “He’s gone isn’t he?”

“No, he told me he was going down to the Big Donut for a snack.” He said and when Rey looked up at him, confused and embarrassed he chuckled and waved his hand. “Yeah, he left a few hours ago. But how embarrassing would that have been if you’d done all that crying and he came back?” Rey punched him in the arm and called him a jerk. “Ow! Hey kid, I’m not a jerk! I’m a musician!” This got a weak chuckle out of Rey and under the circumstances Greg thought it was all he could hope for. He handed him the letter at last.

He unfolded the letter and read. It was a goodbye note, explaining his reasons for going and how he’d understand when he was older. Rey didn’t know what to feel; anger or sadness, maybe both or neither. Right now he just felt tired, exhausted even after his long sleep in the car. A long night’s rest after days on the road seemed like exactly what he needed to sort out these muddled feelings.

“I know this must be rough kid but Ed’s gonna be Ed no matter what we try to say to him. He’s been that way ever since we were kids.” Greg explained but Rey just just wiped his eyes. “And uh, me and him were like brothers back in the day, so as far as I’m concerned you’re like family too. So if you need anything I’m here to help.” He finished by patting his shoulder as Rey started into the sunset.

“He used to bring you up often you know,” Rey said. “Whenever he made a mistake or when things were looking dicey for us, he’d ask himself ‘what would Greg do here?’ and it always seemed to cheer him up.” Greg smiled at this and Rey pressed on. “I heard him asking about you to people we met on the way here, but I just thought he wanted to find you again. When we got here but he wasn’t here, I’d finally managed to put two and two together...” Rey’s anguish started to return as he finished the sentence but Greg managed to pull a quick save.

“Want to go and get something to eat? A good pizza always helps me clear my mind when thing’s have got me down. Or maybe you want something else?” Greg offered.

Rey turned to Greg, “Somewhere to lie down would be a good start.” Greg thought about it for only a moment before declaring “You know what? There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”


	5. How to introduce a brother.

Steven sat on his bed next to Amethyst playing a game on his game-station as she watched him try to beat the boss as fast as possible. Pearl washed the few dishes after a somewhat disastrous dinner attempt the night previously, and Garnet sat on the couch enjoying being Garnet.

“Health potion Steven! Use the health potion!” Amethyst cried out. Steven’s character had very low hit points left but so did the massive Minotaur boss. Steven sat in silence, his fingers hitting buttons and moving thumb sticks as fast as a professional stenographer. Lower their health bars went but Steven knew if he paused to drink a health potion he’d never make it pass the par time, it was all or nothing.

A knocking on the door caused Steven to have a lapse in concentration which prevented him from dodging the Minotaur’s highly telegraphed super attack, therefore causing him to lose the game. Amethyst gave Steven a smug, ‘told ya’ and picked up the controller to have a try while Steven hopped off his bed and raced down the stairs to answer the door.

Pearl and Garnet both stared at the door as Steven rushed to open it. Greg snatched Steven up in a big hug as he pulled the door open. “Hey sport!” he exclaimed and he tossed Steven in the air. He held out his hands to catch him but Steven simply hovered above him. “Wow! That’s uh, new.” Steven laughed and floated back down to the floor.

Greg looked around the house, all the crystal gems were in and looking. He had hoped it would be empty because he just knew that the gems, Pearl especially would have something to say about Rey’s sudden appearance. He thought about Ed, and decided to go along with it anyway. He had promised to look after Rey like he was his own son after all.

“So Greg, what brings you around?” Asked Garnet. Greg knew that Garnet knew exactly why he had come, she knew pretty much everything all the time and her not immediately protesting Rey’s staying was as good a sign as any that bringing him here was a good idea. In fact, Garnets smile indicated that she knew something he didn’t.

Greg motioned for Rey to come up the stairs and into the house. “Steven there’s someone I’d like you to meet.” Greg stepped aside to reveal the doorway where Rey stood. He gave the people inside a curt little wave. “Steven, this is Rey, and starting today he’s your older brother!”

“What?!” Exclaimed Steven, Pearl and Amethyst all at once. Steven stood in front of Rey, looking up at him grinning widely. “Hey uh, little bro? I guess I’ll be staying here for a while.” Rey said awkwardly in the silence. Steven thew his arms around Rey’s waist in a hug. Steven was obviously very excited.

“He’s joking right?” Pearl asked but received no reply. Amethyst had leaped down from Steven’s ‘room’ to look at the newcomer laughing and snorting the whole way. Pearl looked at Garnet who was still sitting on the couch. “Garnet, are we really going to let him stay here ?”

Garnet stood at last, and made her way across the room passing Steven and stood in front of Rey, her smile gone in favor of a more serious look. “Greg, did you tell him who we are? What we are?”

Greg shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. “I figured I’d let you tell him as much as you wanted him to know.” He said. In truth, he had forgotten how strange the Gems would seem to an outsider since everyone in Beach City knew roughly what the Crystal Gems and Steven were.

Garnet slowly nodded, and then bent down to get face to face with Rey and launched into an short explanation as to who they all were and what Gems are. Rey was incapable of anything but numb disbelief. It wasn’t until Garnet showed him the gems embedded in her palms did he finally start to believe her. “This means, if you stay here we can’t promise you’ll be safe. Knowing that, will you stay?” She finished.

Rey paused to think. From the way she was making it sound, they were a kind of superhero group fighting to protect the planet. He couldn’t gauge how capable they looked from here; the big one, Garnet was certainly big but against monsters she didn’t look too impressive, the skinny one, Pearl looked like even he could take her and the small one, Amethyst looked like she couldn’t even beat a shaggy dog. On the whole, Rey was left unsure but with nowhere else to go he nodded.

“Cool!” Steven shouted. “Brother Universe, brother Universe!” He chanted as he ran in circles around Rey and Greg. Amethyst joined Steven in chanting ‘brother Universe’ and racing around the two until Garnet reached down and picked both of them up by their shirts.

Greg explained Rey’s circumstance to the Gems as Rey and Steven got to know each other. “And he left me with your dad, I mean uh... Dad Universe, and he was gone.” Rey finished. Steven was on the verge of tears. “That’s so sad. I never knew my mother, everyone else seems to know more about her than I do, and I AM her, kinda.” He said as he pulled up his shirt to show Rey his gem. “Whoa, you’re a Gem too?” He stared at the pink gem in Steven’s navel. “Half-Gem, It’s kinda complicated and there’s parts I don’t really understand myself.” Steven explained.

Night fell upon the temple at last. Greg had departed and the Gems and Steven were getting ready for bed. Rey decided he’d have to sleep on the couch. Rey and Steven bid the Gems goodnight as they went into their respective rooms. Rey having gone through a very emotionally exhausting day had gone to sleep fairly quickly, Steven on the other had was so excited for have his very own brother that he stayed up a bit longer than usual, imaging showing Rey around Beach City and taking him to visit Peridot and Lapis.

Inside the temple however the Gems stirred. Garnet did her nightly duty of taking catalog of every single gem bubble in the bubble lair and making sure the temple heart remained stable. The cataloging was dull work but important and gave her a bit of time to do a bit of future seeing and planning around potential disaster.

Amethyst decided to begin tidying up her room a little. Her recent exploits with Jasper and her perceived inferiority to the other Gems had awoken a kind of drive in her, A drive to be more responsible and a drive to be a better Gem. She could show this new human that she could be just as impressive as the rest of the Gems, so she got to work. Humans often react negatively to strong smells, she thought. But since she really didn’t have a preference of smells or tastes she decided to just stow all the smelliest things away. After a few hours work, she liked the beginnings of her new room, it still had all of her favorite things albeit not as smelly.

Pearl stood atop her waterfall thinking hard. She didn’t like the idea of another human in the temple regardless of what Garnet had to say during their brief talk. She thought about what would be the best way to scare the new boy out of the house, show him just how dangerous it would be to live here. A rough plan started to formulate in her mind, she would have to act soon however. It would be unwise to wait until everyone got too used to the boy and became attached.


	6. How to give a surprise (WIP)

Next morning Rey awoke early, the sun had only just began to turn the sky blue. His mind already racing with question for the Gems he sat up on the couch only to regret having done so immediately. His stomach felt like it was lined with sewing needles and barbed wire, he had forgotten to eat all day yesterday and he was feeling the consequences for it now. He groggily got up off of the couch and made his way to the refrigerator.

He wondered for a moment if Steven would mind him getting something, but thought if he ate something of his by mistake he could always replace it. Inside the refrigerator was a variety of objects both familiar and bizarre, for instance there were the normal things like; eggs, bacon, milk, cheese and hot dogs but there were also other things such as; motor oil, a sponge with a sizable bite mark, several colorful bottles of unlabeled liquid, and sun cream lotion. Rey stood staring at these odd refrigerates until he heard Steven behind him.

“Amethyst eats that stuff sometimes,” he explained. He was still in his bed but looking wide awake. “My friend Connie asked me the same thing when she first came over.” He hopped out his his bed, floating over the railing and down to the dining area. “So, what do you think?”

“I think Amethyst is immune to food poisoning, a normal person would be seriously messed up eating like this.” Rey responded truthfully. Grimacing at the though of taking a bite out of a sponge and washing it down with lotion and oil.

“I mean about the house and beach city and living here and...” Steven asked, listing off everything that came to mind.

“This is a beach isn’t it?” Rey asked himself more than Steven who was nodding fervently. Rey slowly started walking towards the door, he could hear the water outside, the sound of seagulls and the smell of the saltwater. He had never been so excited for as long as he could remember, he had always wanted to go to the beach and now he lived on one.


End file.
